EurekAlert! - Technology, Engineering and Computer Science
Can ultrashort electron flashes help harvest nuclear energy?
(Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) EPFL physicists have now demonstrated experimentally the ability to coherently manipulate the wave function of a free electron down to the attosecond timescale (10-18 of a second). The team also developed a theory for creating zeptosecond (10-21 of a second) electron pulses, which could also be used to increase the energy yield of nuclear reactions.Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-07/epfd-cue071118.php
New informatics tool makes the most of genomic data
(Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) The rise of genomics, the shift from considering genes singly to collectively, is adding a new dimension to medical care; biomedical researchers hope to use the information contained in human genomes to make better predictions about individual health, including responses to therapeutic drugs. A new computational tool developed through a collaboration between the University of Illinois and the Mayo Clinic combines multiple types of genomic information to make stronger predictions about what genomic features are associated with specific drug responses.Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-07/crwi-nit071118.php
Simpler interferometer can fine tune even the quickest pulses of light
(University of Rochester) A super compact interferometer developed by the lab of Chunlei Guo, professor of optics at the University of Rochester, will give scientists an unprecedented ability to fine tune even the quickest pulses of light for a host of applications, and could render traditional instruments for measuring light beams obsolete.Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-07/uor-sic071118.php
NASA sees Typhoon Maria make landfall in China
(NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) The Global Precipitation Measurement mission or GPM core satellite analyzed Typhoon Maria in 3D as it made landfall in southeastern China.After striking the Ryukyu Islands of Japan and grazing Taiwan with torrential rains, Typhoon Maria made landfall just north of the populous city of Fuzhou, China with sustained winds of 95 knots and a broad shield of precipitation.Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-07/nsfc-nst071118.php
Why are neuron axons long and spindly? Study shows they're optimizing signaling efficiency
(University of California - San Diego) A team of bioengineers at UC San Diego has answered a question that has long puzzled neuroscientists, and may hold a key to better understanding the complexities of neurological disorders: why are neuron axons designed the way they are? The answer -- that they're designed to balance the speed that information flows into the neuron relative to the time it takes the neuron to process that information -- seems intuitive, but has never been quantified until now.Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-07/uoc--wan071118.php
Hurricane Chris's eye stares at NASA's Aqua satellite
(NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) When NASA's Aqua satellite passed over the US Eastern seaboard, it captured an infrared image of Hurricane Chris that showed an eye staring back at the satellite. Chris is expected to continue generating heavy ocean swells along the US East Coast and bring heavy rainfall to Newfoundland, Canada.Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-07/nsfc-hce071118.php
NASA's GPM finds Beryl's remnants raining on the Bahamas
(NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) The remnant thunderstorms from former Tropical Storm Beryl were bringing some areas of heavy rain to the Bahamas when the GPM satellite passed overhead.Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-07/nsfc-ngf071118.php
A flood of Facebook data
(Harvard University) An organization co-created by Harvard scientists is today making the first of what founders say will be many data sets available for research -- a massive trove of more than half a trillion numbers that includes every link ever clicked on by Facebook users in the last year, including the types of people who clicked, what they clicked on, and indicators for whether links were judged to be intentionally false news stories.Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-07/hu-afo071018.php
NASA's Webb Space Telescope to inspect atmospheres of gas giant exoplanets
(NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center) n April 2018, NASA launched the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). Its main goal is to locate Earth-sized planets and larger 'super-Earths' orbiting nearby stars for further study. One of the most powerful tools that will examine the atmospheres of some planets that TESS discovers will be NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. Since observing small exoplanets with thin atmospheres like Earth will be challenging for Webb, astronomers will target easier, gas giant exoplanets first.Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-07/nsfc-nws071118.php
Cleaning out pollen shells (video)
(American Chemical Society) As allergy season intensifies, many people are cursing pollen -- the powdery substance released by plants for reproduction. However, pollen may serve a purpose beyond making new plants and triggering sneezes. In ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering, researchers report a new method for cleaning out the insides of pollen grains so that the non-allergenic shells can be used to carry medicines or vaccines into the human body.Source: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-07/acs-cop071118.php
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/